Striplin Aircraft Corporation LONE RANGER SLVR CLD accident near Agua Dulce, California, October 29, 1997
On October 29, 1997 at about 10:15 pm local time, a Striplin Aircraft Corporation LONE RANGER SLVR CLD, an amateur-built aircraft,, registered N4478Y, was destroyed in an accident near Agua Dulce, California (Agua Dulce airport). It was a personal flight under general aviation rules (Part 91). 1 person had minor injuries. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Failure of the propeller system/drive assembly, and the pilot's failure to maintain flying speed, which resulted in a stall and subsequent impact with the ground. Inadequate maintenance/inspection of the propeller system was a contributing factor.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 29, 1997 · about 10:15 pm local time
- Place
- Agua Dulce, California · Agua Dulce · map
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- 1 person had minor injuries.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Striplin Aircraft Corporation LONE RANGER SLVR CLD LONE RANGE, amateur-built
- Registration
- N4478Y · no longer on the register · serial 8100SR
- Damage
- Destroyed
- Flight
- Personal flight · general aviation rules (Part 91)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
The pilot stated that about 500 feet AGL the engine began to shake violently. His attempts to reduce the vibration by reducing the power were unsuccessful. He did not have enough altitude to return to the airport, and performed a forced landing to a vacant field. A flight crew from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department responded to the accident site and interviewed the pilot. He reported that the engine began to lose power after takeoff and he headed toward a field just south of the crash site. The pilot stated that he was too high and fast to land in the field and he turned around to land downwind. He said that at 30 feet AGL, the airplane stalled, fell to the ground, and nosed over. Witnesses reported that they heard an aircraft over fly their homes producing strange noises. They saw the aircraft make an abrupt turn to land and the landing gear struck the ground. The gear collapsed and the aircraft nosed over onto its back. The pilot/owner/builder reported that the drive belt had rolled forward out of the pulley in the belt reduction drive unit, which induced the vibration and caused a loss of drive power to the propeller.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: private
- Ratings: single-engine land
- Flight time: 269 hours in all; 45 in this make and model; 35 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 3 (expired)
- Seat: ctr
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 76 hours
- Last inspection: annual inspection, October 27, 1997; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 800 lb
- Seats: 1
- Landing gear: fixed
- Engine: Cuyuna 440 (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: L70 CA at 10:10 pm
- Destination: Leona Valley CA
- Flight plan: none
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 220° at 3 knots
- Visibility: 40 statute miles
- Sky: clear
- Temperature: 75°F (24°C), dew point 0°F (-18°C)
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Other NTSB records under N4478Y the same tail number, which may have belonged to a different aircraft at the time
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.